The Kalamazoo Ringers is the oldest continuously operating community choir in the country. Founded in 1981, the choir has played extensively throughout Southwest Michigan, as well as touring throughout the Midwest, Ontario, England, and Japan. The choir is directed by its founder, Janet L. Van Valey, and hosted by the Grace Harbor Church in Kalamazoo. The fifteen ringers play a six octave set of Malmark handbells along with a seven octave set of Malmark Choirchimes. The choir is a member and strong supporter of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, and the Handbell Musicians of America. They have attended and served as featured artists at numerous workshops and festivals sponsored by the Handbell Musicians of America.
Please contact us if you are interested in hosting the Kalamazoo Ringers for a concert.

We believe that the personal relationships among the peoples of the world are the single most important factor promoting peace, understanding and respect. We believe by facilitating and encouraging the explorations of our various cultures, by aiding those in need and sharing knowledge, we willl create relationships that promote strong bonds of lasting international friendship between our countries.

The Kalamazoo Singers is a chorus of approximately fifty voices under the direction of Richard Phelps. All members are admitted by audition and include some of the area’s finest singers. Kalamazoo Singers performs quality music from opera, operetta, musical theater, and both classic and contemporary choral repertoire, occupying a unique niche among area choral groups. Our mission is to inspire and enrich the community through quality choral programming. Our vision: transform individuals and unite communities through the power of song.

Founded in 1921, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is Southwest Michigan’s premier musical organization, providing musical enrichment to over 80,000 adults and youth per year. The third-largest professional orchestra in the state and recognized throughouth the country as a regional orchestra of excellence, the KSO has won numerous awards and grants, including the Met Life Award for Arts Access in Underserved Communities, the National Endowment for the Arts for its extensive education programs, and a major Ford Foundation grant to found its innovative Artist-in-Residence program.
The KSO’s season includes Symphonic, Pops!, Special Event, The World Of, Family Discovery and Classics Uncorked/On Tap concerts. Performance venues include: Miller Auditorium, Chenery Auditorium, WMU’s Dalton Center Recital Hall, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Bell’s Eccentric Café. KSO ensembles can also be found performing free community concerts throughout the season. These concerts are held at Bronson Methodist Hospital’s Garden Atrium, Sarkozy Bakery, First Presbyterian of Kalamazoo and other special events. A full list of concerts and community events is located at www.KalamazooSymphony.com.

Our mission:
Promote, educate, and preserve the rich history of blues music as it concerns Kalamazoo and its impact on American culture and commerce in musical arts and industry.
Each year, we put on the Kalamazoo Blues Festival, which features blues music from local, regional, national and international blues acts.
Our education committee also distributes an annual scholarship to college-bound high school graduates who have demonstrated an appreciation for the music.

With three Kalamazoo locations, a main campus in Texas Township, the nearby Groves Campus, and Arcadia Commons Campus in downtown Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Valley Community College offers certificate programs in more than 20 areas of study and associate degrees in 25 others. These include business, healthcare, human and public service, and technical occupations. A fully accredited institution, Kalamazoo Valley offers day and evening, online and weekend classes.

The Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive is a week-long drum camp held on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The focus here is jazz drumming for all ages and levels. (10-75+ years!)

About KCC
Kellogg Community College was founded in 1956 by the Battle Creek Board of Education. In 1970, voters created an area-wide college district supported by local tax dollars. KCC, which has sites in Battle Creek, Albion, Coldwater, Hastings and in the Fort Custer Industrial Park, offers offers 59 pre-professional transfer curricula; 35 associate degree programs; 28 certificate programs; six categories of professional certifications; and a variety of short-term, non-credit courses.
Kellogg Community College serves approximately 8,400 students annually via five campuses, customized training and online coursework.
The College was fully reaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools most recently in 2012.
The KCC service district covers Barry, Branch and Calhoun counties in south central Michigan. The tax district includes most of Calhoun County and small portions of Barry, Branch, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties. KCC, a nonprofit institution, is governed by a publicly elected Board of Trustees, which sets policy and budgeting priorities.
Mission
“We are dedicated to providing accessible, high-quality education to enrich our community and the lives of individual learners.”
Core Components of Mission
We engage students in learning experiences that lead to enhanced employability and successful transfer to other educational institutions.
We develop students who can think critically, communicate effectively, and demonstrate global awareness.
We partner with the communities we serve to support economic vitality and stability through the development of a skilled local workforce.
We provide the educational resources and student services that promote, support, and enhance student success.
We advocate lifelong learning for all members of the community, providing local residents with educational and cultural opportunities that result in personal growth and development.
Vision
Kellogg Community College will be recognized as a premier institution of higher education, having achieved excellence through innovation, quality instruction, a culture of continuous improvement, and learner-centered decision making. Working together across the College, we support an environment that values:
Student success through collaboration, cooperation, and academic rigor
Positive relationships with students, employers, our staff, and the community
Diversity
Quality and continuous improvement
Innovation, creativity, and flexibility
Personal and professional integrity, and accountability
Staff development
Equity Statement
At Kellogg Community College, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment where we foster respect for others and our differences, support cultural understanding, demonstrate ethical behavior and champion social justice. We will accomplish this by:
Deepening our understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion through learning, engagement with others and personal reflection;
Valuing the lived experiences and perspectives of others while nurturing and understanding the differences between us;
Rejecting all forms of prejudice, discrimination and racism; and
Advancing integrity, justice and civility among and between us.
Equal Opportunity
Kellogg Community College is an equal opportunity educator and employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national or ethnic origin, ethnicity, race, ancestry, color, sex (sex or gender, affiliation, expression or orientation), marital/family status, age, physical or mental ability or attributes, genetic information, political affiliation, veterans status, religion or any other characteristic covered by law in its admission policy, educational programs, activities or employment policies.

MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to provide quality performing arts ensembles that support the development of a youth’s learning experience of life skills through music and the pageantry arts.
HISTORY AND THE LEGENDS ORGANIZATION
Formed in 2001, The Legends program began as an indoor winter program for Portage Central High School brass and percussion students. Summer 2006 marked the first “Summer Experience” season with the addition of a color guard to the ensemble and a performance tour of the Midwest. In 2007, Legends sponsored a new ensemble; a touring drum & bugle corps on a 22-day Midwest performance tour. The tour included performances on the Drum Corps International (DCI) and Mid-America Competing Band Director Association (MACBDA) circuits. In 2008, the Legends Drum & Bugle Corps was granted DCI Open Class (OC) membership as a competitive corps. Legends finished as an Open Class semi-finalist at the DCI World Championships in its first year in competition (2008). In 2009 Legends finished 10th place as a finalist corps of DCI OC and received three awards of achievement: DCI OC Most Improved Corps, DCI OC Jim Jones Leadership Award (Most Outstanding Drum Major, Kelly Koch from Parchment MI), and DCI OC Corps Director of the Year (Ibe Sodawalla from Portage MI). In 2010 and 2011, Legends continued to be an Open Class Finalist finishing 8th and 9th place respectively. In 2012, Legends was named the Most Improved DCI OC corps and finished in 7th place as an Open Class Finalist.
OVERVIEW
The Legends Performing Arts Association (LPAA) was formed in September 2006 by Ibe Sodawalla. Legends is committed to provide performing opportunities to the youth in the West Michigan area. These ensembles focus on life skill development and support the foundational purposes of music/arts education in schools. Our mission is to provide quality performing arts ensembles that support the development of a youth’s learning experience of life skills through music and the pageantry arts. The LPAA is a not-for-profit corporation which supports 4 programs that serves 220+ young people from age 13-21 including the Legends Drum & Bugle Corps, Legends Percussion, Legends All-Star Band, and Legends Indoor Ensemble. The LPAA also sponsors 2 Drum Corps International (DCI) events in Michigan during the summer and various educational clinics throughout the year. The LPAA is responsible for the oversight, planning, finances, and vision of Legends. This group consists of volunteer Board members and elects an Executive Director/CEO to manage the organization. Contributions to Legends are tax-deductible and we are a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. Our flagship program, the Legends Drum & Bugle Corps, is a DCI Open Class Finalist which performs at DCI Summer Tour Games events, community performances, and educational clinics. This ensemble is comprised of select members across the country. Their tour culminates at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana the second week of August. The Legends Drum & Bugle Corps is the only one of its kind in Michigan.

LettersToSarah Metalsmithing creates unique handmade jewelry that celebrates passion: from the places you've lived and loved, to the journeys to come, to the natural world that unites us all. As an independent artist, I, Sarah, actualize every part of the creative process: designing, refining, sawing, filing, soldering, sanding, shaping, and polishing, giving each of my creations a piece of my labor and love and a distinct personality in a world saturated with ready-made jewelry. Fascinated by the cultural and social value of material culture, I love the power of adornment to define identity, inspire possibilities, empower action, and connect lives.

Fine art and commercial photographer Lissa Hahn divides her time between her Los Angeles studio and her Michigan summer home studio.
The Richmond, Virginia-raised Hahn began her photographic studies in high school where she learned traditional darkroom film processing and printing techniques. In 1995 she moved to California to pursue her studies of photography including a master workshop with renowned photographer Mark Edward Harris at the University of California, Los Angeles. Hahn supported her studies by working at a prestigious Hollywood photography lab where she came in direct contact with the film of Bruce Weber, the prints of Ellen Von Unwerth and many other photographic luminaries. She then headed to New York to work as a photographic assistant while shopping her portfolio around. Assignments and gallery exhibitions soon allowed Hahn to leave her invaluable assisting days behind.
In 2002 Hahn moved back to Los Angeles to open her own studio in the Brewery Artist Colony, a location she continues as to use as her creative base.
In 2015 Hahn expanded her creative base to Kalamazoo, MI starting a new family and finding a great community there.
Lissa's new work takes an innovative approach to photography. Hahn's images are created with no digital manipulation. Altering our visual sense of reality, Lissa captures her subjects with one exposure. As she expands depth and brilliant color spaces through her techniques we are met with a complex visual that is hard to conquer with the brain. Subsequently,Lissa found this work is 3-d.
In 2013 she experimented with flowers to fine tune her techniques. In 2014 she begin photographing friends in handmade costumes from found objects and things from the hardware store. She continues on her journey with new subjects in Kalamazoo.

Listening to Ladies is an initiative begun by Elisabeth Blair which has three main activities: online showcasing of composers who are women, an ongoing concert series of their works, and a podcast featuring interviews with women composers, and samples of their work (to be released in August 2016).

Lotsa Little Things/Gallery 248 is a place where talented Michigan based artists and artisans market their work. We are within convenient walking distance from the many venues and attractions in downtown Kalamazoo. We are an artist’s co-op that currently houses 17 artists with a variety of interests, including painting, vintage bicycle and moped repair, soap making – even origami and license plate art!
We host monthly parties, featuring 2 focus artists of the month. The artists are in house, and available to meet so you can learn more about the art from its creator. Also, we have special events focused around the many festivals in downtown Kalamazoo.
This is a fun, energetic, and exciting place, both for the public and the member artists, so come on down and hang out, look at the art, and talk to the artists! See you here!

Lushh is a non-genre specific band made up of students in Western Michigan University’s Jazz Studies Program. Lushh’s influences draw upon the likes of Kneebody, Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote, Snarky Puppy, Donny McCaslin, Kendrick Lamar, and more.
Lushh frequently performs in and around the greater Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor. In addition to performing, Lushh teaches masterclasses at local Michigan high schools. The band has recorded at Overneath Creative Collective as well as Western Michigan University’s Western Sounds Studios. Lushh is currently working on recording a live album at Overneath Creative Collective, collaborating with painters, sound, and light engineers which is supported by the Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative, a program of the Arts Coucil of Greater Kalamazoo.
Lushh has also been named the Best Group in Downbeat’s 2017 Blues/Pop/Rock category. Our guitar player, Andrew Saliba, won the 2016 Downbeat Student Award for Best Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist on our recording of Great Fairy’s Fountain Theme.